After spending the entire day locked up in the back room at the testing agency, we headed into Boston to have dinner at Jasper White's Summer Shack.
The portions were very large, the atmosphere was hopping and the music was really loud ... it would be perfect for a family vacation adventure, but wasn't the right mood for a winding down after a long work day.
Tomorrow is back to the agency for day two of the study ...
I flew into Boston yesterday afternoon and spent a few hour touring the coastline north of the city. I ended up in Marblehead ... a quaint little town with some really fun shopping. I didn't purchase anything beyond a coffee and donut at Dunkin Donuts, but had a fun day nonetheless.
I managed to take a few pictures from one of the beaches along Atlantic Drive ... love the beauty that this rugged coastline possesses ...
Today I slept in until 10:30 EST time and finally got out of bed to take a phone call from the office. Around 2 I headed to the agency where we debrief about our upcoming study ... nothing too fun to report there. Afterwards, we headed out to dinner at a place called Angelo's in Stoneham ... great Italian food, good wine and awesome conversation. Great way to start a 10-day work trip!!
While yesterday was my official five year celebration with the winery, today our department celebrated it by having a three hour lunch at Galletto's here in Modesto. The ten of us were seated around a large round table in the family dining room which is off the main dining room and contains pictures of the Gallo Family over the last several decades. It was so fun to sneak a peek into their family photos ... pictures on vacation or gathered around a Christmas tree ... it was fun to figure out who was who and which ones are still working at the winery.
In addition to the fabulous lunch, the Gallo Family also gave me this great watch and a ruby studded Gallo charm. Check them out ...
I can't believe that I have been in Modesto five years as I never truly thought that I would make it this long in Modesto! I have made some great friends at the winery as well as in Modesto and Northern California and just feel that I am being to hit my stride with living in the Valley. I am just now settling in to life in Northern California and now realize that I really do need to take advantage of living in California. So, over the course of the next couple of months I am planning on seeing more of the state and I will be sure to carry you all along on these adventures.
The adventures will begin this weekend ... can't wait to see where I end up and what I will find there!
Each quarter our entire department participates in some sort of off-site and this quarter's activity was bowling. We had a blast! While the pictures aren't stellar, you can get the general jest of the afternoon ...
Manuela meeting our newest member to the Stats group ... Erik H.
Wally, Cheryl, Marie, Kathy and our HR rep Leah looking on as the teams are set up on the boards.
Lew and Lilian get serious about the competition ... okay, maybe not serious but there was definitely some interest.
Marie and I cheering on Trixie ... I mean Jennifer Jo ... our fearless leader!
Erik speed limit bowling ...
Erik and Terry invented a new game that really caught on with the group ... speed limit bowling! They would set a limit on how fast you could throw the ball and if you got below the limit set then the number of pins that you knocked down would be added up and for every 0.5 you were under the limit you got to add another pin to your total. It is hard to roll the ball slowly ... record was 2.9 mph with a strike; however, Erik and Hua both had ball stopped in the gutters prior to contacting the pins. Next time you are out bowling ... try it!
Off to make a card for Ms. Amanda's birthday tomorrow ... the big 25!
Today at work Rod lead the team through a tequila tasting and here are a few shots of us at "work" ...
Wally and Esmeralda pouring out the product for us to evaluate ...
Marie's initial reaction to the tequila ...
Meara enjoying the samples ...
After work I came home and paint my very big vintage "M" to hang on the wall in the studio and did a little picking up and putting away of other projects that Deanna and I pulled out of the studio this weekend.
Here is a card that I was able to complete this evening ...
supplies: Green, black, blue, pink and white cardstock, Ivy Ketto stamp, A Muse black ink, Stickles - Diamond, Orange Peel, Lime Green, Cotton Candy, Waterfall, and Magenta and the following Copic markers
Tonight we had a work event at Concetta's ... a wine and food pairing and boy was it fun! Here are a few of the shots from the evening ...
At the beginning of the evening, Leeann discussed how the evening would go and essentially a series of small plates where we would try a series of wines and discuss which wines went best with which plate and why. We ate everything from goat cheese wrapped in a roasted pepper to duck confit to chocolate ganache and boy was it all fabulous! Paul (owner and chef) at Concetta's did an outstanding job in pairing the wines to the food!!
Amanda and Eric Nugent
Laure and Andy
Eric and Sean
Leeann and me
After I got home, I knocked out the following card to share here with you ... enjoy!
supplies: A Muse 4 Bar Palm notecard, Royal Blue, Magenta and White cardstock, Doodlebug Dots, white seam binding, Odd Bird Planet Owls stamps, A Muse Black ink, Copics (E57 Light Walnut, E59 Walnut, E33 Sand, E37 Sepia, B37 Antwerp Blue, B02 Robin's Egg Blue, B04 Tahitian Blue, RV13 Tender Pink, RV17 Deep Magenta, YG23 New Leaf) and Paper Trey Ink Wise Owl saying stamp
Today was a really detail oriented day at work and for those of you who know me ... you know that it made for a very long day. This morning I spent some time teaching folks about the differences in our wines ... by the way, I work at E&J Gallo Winery as a winestyle project manager. So technically, I drink (sip & spit) for a living ... it is a fun job and someone has to do it, right? So, after I got back from teaching in the morning I spent the entire day building a spreadsheet for a management tasting ... all sorts of minute details about the wines that would be evaluated. I learned some really cool things, but boy this type of work is not my cup of tea or glass of wine ... :).
Tonight I finished a layout for my personal album ... yes, I did a 12x12 page ... can you believe it? The idea as well as the product came from the lovely Jenni Bowlin. I love her vintage vibe!
The picture in this layout is the last picture taken of my Mamma McNeill (age 90) and me (age 36). This picture was taken at what was our annual 4th of July Chuckwagon Weekend.
During the weekend, she told me that it would be her last Chuckwagon with us and I joked with her that if she kept up that attitude up that it would be. She 
laughed and we both teared up ... 
nothing was left unsaid between the two of us as I learned that lesson when we lost Dad in 2004. Cherish those you consider your family and friends and let them know it as well!
Well ... I had better get back to scrapbooking as I have a couple of last minute details for my classes on Saturday as well as a couple of mini-albums that I am working on for September classes. Stay posted for a glimpse at the new classes later this week.
